Five things your high school student should know about careers

1. Whatever you find interesting is a clue to your career path.
As a parent, you know how important it is to enjoy your work. And chances are your job, assuming you like it, includes focusing on things that interest you and that you find enjoyable. You can help your child think about the things he likes to do, and you can make it a project to Google interest areas with the term “career” after them. You’ll be fascinated to see that there is a career associated with virtually any interest you and he can come up with.

2. Having a mentor is critical to career success, so find one as early as you can.
A mentor is an individual, usually older, always more experienced, who helps and guides another individual’s development. This guidance is not done for personal gain, but typically because the mentor wants to encourage those interested in his profession, sees potential in a younger person, wants to leave a strong legacy, practice his management skills, or a combination of some or all of these things.
Mentoring is used in many settings. Although it is most common in business, it can be used in any career path. Having good mentors throughout one’s career is a tremendous asset.
If you’re assertive in helping your child find mentors beginning in high school, he will be ahead of the game. A mentor can come from virtually anywhere. Your child shouldn’t overlook his teachers and advisers while he’s in high school.
Interested teachers can do a lot more than simply support kids in the classroom. Mentors can be teachers, but they can also be guidance counselors, administrators or coaches.
Other mentors may be a relative or to be more specific, a clothing designer or writer your child admires. They might be a business owner, a doctor or a physical therapist.

In other words the sky’s the limit, but the onus is on you and your child to figure out how to connect with the right people. Don’t worry so much about age—it’s more about the mentor’s experience and approximation to your child’s interest.

Your child should get in the habit of identifying mentors throughout her career. Among those I interviewed, mentors were critical in helping with internships, and internships frequently lead to full-time jobs after college.

3. Experimenting with internships is the best way to gain exposure to a possible career.
The only way to really find out if a career path is right for you is to try it out. It’s easy to think you might want to hang your hat on a particular career path only to find yourself disillusioned by the reality of actually doing the job.

Whatever ideas your child has about a career, make sure she tries it out through internships—more than one, if possible. Between the school year and during the summer, there are numerous opportunities to try something out in multiple environments, making contacts all along the way.
While many internships are paid at the college level, it is more challenging, although not impossible, for high school students to find paid internships.
Your child may have to supplement an unpaid internship with a paying job at the same time. However, if her skills are more specialized she can get paid, particularly if she has served as an unpaid intern in a similar capacity in the past.
4. Networking is still the number one way people find careers and jobs.
At all stages of life, networking is the key to staying connected to where the jobs are.
First, here’s hoping you’re modeling good connecting skills for your child; encourage him to be in touch with interesting people both through social media and in person.

While it should be obvious to understand the importance of arriving on time for work and knowing how to make good conversation with adults, these are lifelong skills that needs to be fostered… right now!
Believe it or not, likeability is the number one reason why people get hired, so help your child understand how to project a friendly, helpful, positive persona. -- Knowing how to communicate easily and effectively will serve him well in whatever career he eventually winds up choosing.

5. Start your research early and make it a priority.
The job market continues to change at a rapid rate, and research skills are a hot commodity.Your child should know how to navigate the online world to gather the data and ideas he will need in any field.

Encourage him to spend time researching career paths and help him invigorate his research through one-on-one conversations with those in a field of interest. Conducting background research and generating ideas on how he can be helpful to organizations is an important skill he will use throughout his career.

Spending the time to conduct thorough background research will always keep him a step ahead of his peers, and now is the time to hone those skills.

With some help and encouragement from his parents, your child will develop the tools and skills that will serve him no matter what kinds of curve balls the economy throws in the future. And it’s never too early to start.

Let's take a ride ........ A practical Approach to Career Exposure...

Why don't we take the kids out on a trip today?

Maybe a tour to a manufacturing plant? an airport? a 5 star hotel or an ultramodern state of the art hospital? what do you think?

The sole purpose of our well organized and detailed excursion tours is to bring your children into direct contact with career people and processes, show them the day to day activities of men and women on the job who will share with them on a personal note , their job descriptions and experiences.

A very little number of vocations are known and understood by the average nigerian high school goer and even to some parents.

We want to increase this number by exposure to real life work environments and one on one sessions with professionals and the best available tour guides.

GTi's ultimate goal is to make more knowledge available and through that create a vast array of options for our present and future generations. We simply want to spark interests in new areas and open up new possibilities for a greater and easier tomorrow.

Give us a call or e-mail us to learn more about this and other educational solutions we offer.

gtiserve@gmail.com
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+2348064125261

10 New Career Ideas at 30!

Need 10 new career ideas at 30? The idea to change careers at the age of 30 is one that either comes to a person desiring change or is forced on a person who has suffered a job loss.  Either way you look at it, changing careers at 30 takes some planning.

1. Nursing is an always in demand career path.  The reason for it's popularity is likely due to the high demand, fair pay and excellent benefits that comes with this career.
2. Freelance writing is a career that can be an easy transition for anybody who already does a fair bit of writing in their current career or in their personal life.  It is a great way to get paid for what you love to do.
3. Web designer is gaining momentum as the world is becoming more and more Internet driven.  The pay for this career can be substantial.
4. Medical Assistant is another great career choice.  It offers similar advantages to the nursing careers and is in high demand as well.
5. Computer technician is a career choice that requires relatively short training time and an amazing salary.
6. Physical therapist is a choice that yields a nice salary with a fairly short training period.
7. Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) is a career that offers an excellent opportunity as a starting point for a multitude of other career options.
8. Becoming a chef is an excellent career choice for those who have a passion and aptitude for the culinary arts.  There are various trade schools and programs in almost every city that will prepare you for this career.
   
9. Becoming a Veterinary Assistant is a another great way to start a new career with fair salary, minimal training and decent open opportunities.
10. Computer Programmer is another excellent paying career that is always in demand.

 Weigh your options, investigate the training requirements and available facilities and make a career change for the future.  Changing careers at the age of 30 is not only a goal that can be accomplished but one that is very common.

It's not too early but it might become too late..

High school may seem way too early to start thinking about a potential career. Your child is probably focused on thinking about the WAEC's, applying to Universities and keeping their grades high. With six years of high school, and possibly four years or more of University to complete, do students really need to consider choosing or narrowing in on a career path so early?

• Why should students start thinking about a career while still in high school? High school is a great time to start thinking about a possible future career. If your child already has an idea of what they’d like to do – especially if it’s something in the performing arts or another specialized field – you can choose an appropriate, specialized high school for him or her to attend and they can being working toward their career goal early. At the same time, your child could start taking classes or gaining work experience outside of school to prepare for their dream job. This will help bolster their resume and college application, which could ultimately get them accepted into a college that is appropriate for their desired career.

• How do young students begin to decide on a career path? While your child is still in school, have him or her start thinking about what interests them, what they enjoy doing, what they believe they are good at, etc. Help your child discover the areas in which they are interested, talented, or willing to learn more about. Encourage them to try out different elective classes, extracurricular activities, take advantage of volunteering opportunities, etc. Basically, if you’re child doesn’t have an idea of what he or she is good at or enjoys doing, help them explore lots of options.

• Research careers. When your child has decided what their skills, interests and talents are, you can help them begin to research careers. Encourage your child, or make an appointment that you can also attend, with your child’s guidance counselor and talk about possible career paths that suit his or her interest. You can also being to research what college degrees would be best suited to your child’s interests and goals. This also make it easier to choose the right college once the time comes.

• Once a desired career is chosen. Once your child has chosen which career he or she would like to pursue, there are many steps you can take to being working on achieving their goal. As mentioned before, your child can now take electives in high school, participate in after-school activities or outside programs and events that will help educate them and give them early experience in their desired field.

At first, asking your child – who may have just started high school – to start thinking about what they’d like to be doing after college, may seem a bit crazy. However, the benefits of starting early are hard to deny. Just remember to remind your child that while starting early can help, they can always change their mind or change their plans. In fact, you can probably anticipate your child will change their mind somewhere along the line, but it’s still better to have started early than to fall behind later.

Would you like us to plan a Career day for your school?

A high school career day can help students prepare for their future careers and plan the track of education they will need to follow. Students will get a chance to learn about different careers while networking with local companies in that field. It is important to start early when planning a career day to make sure there are enough participants. 

Call or E-mail for more Details.

GTi

passion for your kids' tomorrow 

Why Take our High School Career Aptitude Test?

Why Take the High School Career Aptitude Test?

You should take the High School Career Aptitude Test if you are a high school student unsure of what to do with your life. This test could offer early career guidance to any student which could help them determine their aptitude and interest towards a particular field of study and work.

Most parents assume that schools are providing the necessary college and career planning guidance to their children. But findings gleaned from over 10 years of research studies reveal that students are not getting the help they need to make good decisions about life after high school.

Give us a call today or send us an e-mail and learn more about the GTi Option.

Numbers: 08064125261
                07044902927

You may also leave your questions in the Comment box.

Psychometric Experts...with a passion

Psychometric testing is a tool used mainly to evaluate a persons strengths , weaknesses and interests. It is recognized as an efficient way to gain insight into a person’s personality and psychological thinking. It can help develop team spirit in the workplace and assess an individual’s priorities.

This type of testing could be an office-based procedure, although the test itself can be conducted anywhere. Some are processed online using software applications. The test should only take around 15 minutes to complete, although depending on the depth of the test, it may take longer.

 The results of the testing give schools and parents an idea of how the child will perform in different areas of interest. Once the test has been completed, it takes approximately 5-10 seconds to produce the results.

The results of psychometric testing are usually issued in booklet form or sent by email and printed. This type of testing uses in-depth psychological profiles to assess personality and intellectual levels. Different test companies use different theoretical approaches to testing, such as the psychometric approach, the psychodynamic approach, the social learning approach and the humanist approach.

Psychometric testing usually falls into three specific categories. Ability testing measures a person’s potential to learn new skills . Aptitude testing is also job related, but focuses on specific job areas and how the test taker would perform in a defined role. Personality testing covers how a person acts in the workplace in relation to different personality types. It can determine how the test taker would deal with someone of the direct opposite personality type, and suggest to management how to get the best results from someone with a certain personality type.

With psychometric testing, there is no pass or fail. Different test companies have their own methods of testing. Usually, there are multiple sets of questions relating to personality type, how the test taker would handle aspects of work and home life, what his or her goals are for the future and his or her strengths and weaknesses. If the test taker is truthful, then results should be fairly accurate.

GTi is positioned to conduct these tests and issue out results and recommendations to our clients, with high school students being our primary focus. The purpose is to  give them a heads up on what their chances of success are in various capacities based on their outputs from the assessment.

we are very passionate about the future of our children and we are working very hard to be part of a brighter tomorrow .

Give us a call today, have your child assessed and become informed about their capabilities. This puts you in charge of the direction their career lives should go.